Thursday, February 10, 2011

There's just something magical about citrus fruits that are in season: the plump sections of an orange fairly burst with bright, sparkling juices... In the United States, oranges are at their best during the winter months, and this season is no exception! Because of this citrusy abundance, there has been a proliferation of orange-inspired recipes on the internet of late(see here and here), and after doing some research in the muffin section of my handy dandy Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook, I'm jumping on the bandwagon with one of my own :)

*This recipe is adapted from the "Just Muffins" recipe in the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook.

Ingredients:

Dry:

1 and 1/2 cups of unbleached AP flour, sifted

3 T of unsweetened cocoa powder

3 5 T of turbinado sugar

2 t of baking powder

1 t of salt

Wet:

1 blackened (and therefore ripe!) banana, mashed

1 T of flax seeds, ground

3 T of warm water

3 caps of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of milk

1 navel orange

1 blood orange

*My modification of the original recipe called for less sugar, but so much cocoa makes for a VERY strongly flavored muffin which not everyone may like, so you could up the sugar to 5 T or brush the muffins with a simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, heated on the stovetop until dissolved, and then cooled before application), which will give them that extra *pop* of sweetness :)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Grease your muffin tin.

Combine all dry ingredients together, and mix all wet ingredientstogether UP TO THE MILK.

Peel the oranges and process or juice (I used my food processor!).

Measure out 1/2 cup of orange juice (you can keep the pulp: it adds more fiber).

Add to the 1/2 cup of milk, which will make the milk curdle because of the acid.

Add this mixture to the other wet ingredients and mix until combined (do not overmix!).

Spoon your fluffy batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup 3/4 of the way to the top

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Today was one of those days when you wake up, look out the window, and immediately think SNOW DAY! Except past high school, you don't usually have snow days unless you work in education, and by that I mean NOT at our university lol

So for all those almost-grown-ups out there, who are too "adult" to get a snow day, here's a little taste of Spring :)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Grandparents are awesome: they shower you with stories, hugs, and mounds of candy, among other things. Mine are no exception, and today we are celebrating their birthday! In honor of this occasion, I want to share with you the world famous Grandmother Muffins :)

This recipe is based on a couple different versions, but mostly the "Just Plain Muffins" recipe from the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook. Even if you aren't "doing" Weight Watchers, this is still an interesting cookbook because it is full of a variety of relatively healthy, and definitely interesting, recipes. I like the "New American Cooking" section the best :)

Anywhoo, here is the recipe (with my modifications):

Ingredients:

Dry:

1 and 1/4 cups unbleached AP flour + 1/2 cup WW flour, sifted

4 t of honey

2 t of baking powder

1/2 t of salt

1 T of cinnamon (b/c I LOVE cinnamon!)

Wet:

1 T of flax seeds, ground and mixed with

2 T of water (preferably warm/RT)

1 cup of milk (I used vanilla dairy-free, but I'm sure regular milk will work fine)

4 t of melted coconut oil

Garnish:

jam (I used apricot!)

shredded coconut (your call as to sweetened or not)

Preheat oven to 375F.

Grease a muffin tin.

Mix all dry ingredients together, and all wet ingredients together.

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until all the flour is incorporated.

Add more liquid to the batter if it's too dry (milk OR water work fine!).

Spoon batter into muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3 of the way to the top.

Garnish with shredded coconut, jam, or both! If you're using jam, make sure you press it down into the batter a little.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

I'm taking these to a party tonight, so I can't taste-test them yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I do. In the meanwhile, try them! :)

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Hello Muffin Bakers!
Since the name "Make Muffins" was already taken *sniffle* I hereby christen this blog: Bake a Muffin! (round of applause from appreciative audience)
In other news: yesterday was the first time I made OhSheGlows carrot chia spelt muffins! However, I had neither chia nor spelt in my kitchen, so I substituted with what I had :)
The original recipe is here: http://ohsheglows.com/2010/01/30/carrot-chia-spelt-muffins/
The modifications are as follows:

1/4 cup olive oil (Booo: I ran out of extra virgin, so just used regular)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F.

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Mix wet ingredients together in a medium sized bowl and add wet to dry, mixing until combined.

Add a leeeetle bit of water, just to moisten the batter and incorporate all of the flour.

Spoon into greased muffin tin (or paper liners, like I did).

Bake for 25 – 27 min.

Here they are, bathing in the glow of the range lamp, finally in the spotlight where they belong ;)

These smelled LOVELY coming out of the oven! All cinnammoney, with just a little kick from the nutmeg. I think I may need to add a little bit more sweetener next time, though you could always do what My Hero did, and eat one for breakfast with jam :) Or heat one up and spread with a little bit of salted butter = YUM! :D